Articles Adapted from Oh, Baby!
4 WAYS A BABY CAN HELP YOUR CAREER!
While conflicts can certainly arise between your obligations to your job and your family, parenting can also be a benefit when it comes to making a living. For example, although having a child may force a job change, you might be surprised to find that you actually like your new job better! Or you may find yourself having less stress on the job if you’ve decided to let go of your need to climb the corporate ladder for now to focus on your family. Raising children can also force you to take an honest look at your work and the time you spend doing it. It can cause you to search your values and define the meaning of success by new standards.
You’ll Find That Having a Family Is Very Motivating! Now that you have a family to support, you can no longer be a slacker. With your new grown-up role of being a parent comes the need to be more mature at the office. If you avoided applying for a management job in the past because you didn’t want the headaches that came with it, you may be more willing to seek out that job now because it comes with a large increase in pay. Fathers, especially, seem to feel a greater responsibility to support their families, and this new mindset may cause them to make more of an effort to be promotable at the office.
You May Become a Better Manager: Now that you have a family of your own, you have more compassion for your coworkers’ and subordinates’ family concerns. After all, how can you be upset with the employee who takes a week off to be with her son during a bout with tonsillitis when your own child came down with the flu and was sick for several days? Now you understand the conflicts that other parents face. This is especially true for single parents, who don’t have a partner to rely on when the kids get sick. And other parenting skills come in handy at the office as well. Some parents report that they feel more “focused” on the job as the result of being a parent. They aren’t willing to put up with trivial stuff or time-wasting activities because they just don’t want to spend their valuable time dealing with unimportant things anymore.
You’ll Have “New and Improved” Priorities: You’ll be amazed at how your career priorities change when you have a child. Prebaby, you may have been willing to do anything possible to move ahead at the office. It didn’t matter if you were working nights and weekends because you were moving up. But now the big picture has changed. Although it’s still important to do a good job, you realize that rising to the top isn’t necessarily what you want anymore. You’re not willing to give up your life at the expense of your children’s well-being. This can free you up from the stress of your formerly competitive life and allow you to be more content with your current status in life.
You’ll Bring a Deeper Sense of Self to Your Work (and Goals): Changing jobs or career paths can be scary. If you decide the time is right to pursue a freelance job at home, you may worry that you won’t be able to pick up enough work to keep afloat financially. Or you may feel that you’ll be bored or too distracted by the demands of home and children to do your job properly. If you change jobs but still work outside the home, there are the usual anxieties of hoping that you’ll like the new job, you’ll get along with your new coworkers and boss, and you won’t be looked down upon if you need to take time off for a sick child. But often, being forced to change careers may turn out to be for the best. You may find a whole new career that you love, such as becoming a daycare provider or a children’s book author. Or perhaps you’ll find that your new job is much less stressful than your old one.
Most parents today understand that “having it all” is a myth. When you work, you’re going to miss out on times with your child, and when you’re home, you’re missing out on money and career opportunities. You can’t give 100 percent of your time to both your job and your children. It’s a price you pay for the honor of being a parent. Therefore, carefully consider your choices, along with the associated pros and cons, and then make the best decision for your family in terms of your career. Undoubtedly, your children will thrive on whatever path you choose!
Adapted from Oh, Baby! 7 Ways a Baby Will Change Your Life the First Year ©2006 by Bettie B. Youngs, Ph.D., Ed.D., Susan M. Heim, and Jennifer L. Youngs.
The book is available from your local bookstore, or directly from Hampton Roads Publishing Co. at www.hamptonroadspub.com or 1-800-766-8009.